All About Pie

What do you think is the best way to make the sauce in a shepherds pie?

Public Comments

1. Gravy granules & Hot water
2. Couple of stock cubes or a good tablespoon of Bovril, with some tomato puree and herbs and spices to taste. I often add a bit of curry powder and a bit of chilli powder - gives it a bit of a kick! Try adding mustard to your mash as well!
3. use real fresh shepherds
4. Oxo cube and not too much water.
5. I make a rich gravy and add a blob of HP sauce or Worcester Sauce.....mmmmmmmmmm yumm, might have it for my tea now...
6. Using a packet of dried powder for shepherds pie that you would find at aa supermarket, my mum and nan can never go wrong with it.
7. I brown the mince with a finely chopped onion, then add a tablespoon tomato puree and two teaspoons of bisto gravy granules. Cook mince for half an hour and add water if necessary. Then put mince ina bowl and add a tin of baked beans on top. Top off with mashed potato and a little grated cheese. Cook in oven til cheese has melted and browned. Yummy.
8. i know a lady who use cream ofs in it, like cream of mushroom- cream of chicken and so on. pick your flavor and dig in. its a thrown together meal anyway, so it might as be one you enjoy fully. it was invented as way to serve left over meats in the 1800s so there really is nothing gourmet about it
9. I just use an ordinary beef gravy and add a touch of Marmite..Proper Marmite that you get in the UK mind, not the horrible sweet rubbish we get here in NZ. Brown sauce is good too
10. Chuck in a stock cube in some water ! ! !
11. Depends whether you're using beef or lamb mince (and I know with beef it's cottage pie really but almost everyone calls it shepherds regardless). For beef I use 2 beef oxo cubes, 2 teaspoons of English mustard powder and a dessert spoon of cornflour to make about 1.25 pint of gravy-as I've usually added onions, carrots/beans & pepper to the mince. For lamb I use the same oxo cube & cornfour combination but add 2 teaspoons of creamed horseradish to the gravy instead of mustard (if you're going to use cream of horseradish sauce add 4 or 5 teaspoons). Just adds a little bit of 'bite' to the pie (my nippers will eat this) so if you want it stronger add more mustard/horseradish. If you really want to get creative add a little celeriac and salt and pepper to the mash (it cooks just like potato but use a 2 parts spud to 1 part celeriac mix).
12. I like to make up a batch of demiglace every couple weeks and keep it in the fridge. The demiglace makes a much better base for gravies and sauces than using cubes or powders. So I'd brown the meat with some onions and garlic, then add some mushrooms then tomatoe paste and brown it a little, then add some demiglace to the pan and simmer for a bit, add some veggies (peas and carrots). Put that in the casserole dish, top with mashed potatoes (maybe add some parsnips in the potatoes as well) spinkle with some grated cheese and bake! Now I'm hungry...
13. oxo cube and about 1/2 pint of water
14. Don't know what sauce you are referring to. I've heard of shepard's pie or cottage pie to be made with layers of beef, creamed corn, and mashed potatos. Then maybe cheese on top. No sauce in any that I've eaten.
15. Bisto original gravy granules and hot water!!
16. buy a jar of Homepride shepards pie sauce from the supermarket.
17. Gravey Granuals will prob do the trick!
18. I like to dice up an onion or two, some carrot and some celery, saute for a few minutes, add minced lamb which I will already have browned (you may use beef - not authentic though), then mix in 1 tbsp plain flour to thicken it (must be done at this point while there's no water in the pan, only veg, meat and fat), a good tablespoon or two of tomato puree, some ground black pepper, a pinch of cayenne pepper and stir, then add a little stock to make it a little mushier than boil gently for a few minutes until it's all hot... usually I make thick mash with plenty of butter and not so much milk, and it's good to sprinkle fresh basil on top, or lay a few sprigs of thyme on there to make it look lovely.
19. With my version, you don't need a sauce. Roast your lamb (preferably shoulder) for your Sunday lunch and with the left over, on Monday, mince it with RAW onions, (if you don't have a Kenwood Chef with an attachment, there must be mincing machines, on the market), the raw onions make the meat nice and juicy, that is all you need to do. We have it always after we have had roast lamb, it is delicious. Hubby prefers sliced potatoes on top, I prefer mashed topped with cheese, so I do half and half.. You can add Worcestershire sauce, to give it a kick, but the flavour is so nice, you don't really need it..
20. Bovril, worcestershire sauce, mixed herbs, a bit of mint (presuming you are making it with lamb) or horseradish sauce. Mix all this with the meat and veggies and thicken slightly with a bit of cornflour.